Piling fenders are commonly used in connection with fixed docks supported by vertical pilings driven into the seabed. To avoid damaging the top sides of vessels approaching and tied to the dock, resilient fender elements commonly are secured to the outer surfaces of the piling, extending vertically along the piling over the region thereof expected to be contacted by vessels of various sizes and at various stages of the tides in tidal waters. One common type of dock piling is round wooden piling which is driven deep into the seabed, leaving a portion exposed above the water level for securing and supporting the dock. Various forms of resilient devices are secured to outer surfaces of such pilings, using nails, lag screws or the like. An example of such is shown in the Matthews U.S. Pat. No. 3,950,953.
Piling fenders of the type indicated above tend to become quickly damaged and unsightly, as a result of contact with vessels moving either forwardly or rearwardly at the time of contact. Particularly in the case of wooden pilings, the contours of such pilings frequently are irregular, either naturally or because of damage resulting from contact with vessels. Thus, piling fenders frequently are not fully supported underneath, and are therefore prone to lateral distortion, which can in some cases tear the fasteners out of the piling and in other cases tear the fender material away from the fasteners.
Among other things, standard piling fenders when partially detached from a piling, are very unsightly and give the appearance of a poorly kept marina.
In some cases, piling fenders designed for installation in either round or flat-faced pilings are formed with a flat face contour. When such fenders are applied to round pilings, the fenders conform to the surface contours of the piling only in the immediate areas of the fastening devices. Because the fender material is resilient in nature, the fender sections tend to revert to their original flat base contours in the spaces between vertically adjacent fasteners. This not only gives the entire installation a somewhat unsightly appearance, but it also makes the fender more easily prone to damage and distortion because the fender edge can easily be snagged in areas between fasteners, by a vessel moving forwardly or rearwardly at the moment of contact.
Pursuant to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a novel and improved piling fender is provided which comprises a continuous, rigid retaining channel, which is secured to the front face of a piling and forms a vertical channel into which the resilient fender element is installed and retained.
The retaining channel, which is contoured to conform generally to the contours of the piling, is fixed to the piling at a plurality of vertically spaced locations. Opposite side edges of the retaining channel extend inward over the opposite side margins of the channel to form inwardly facing retaining slots for receiving opposite side flanges of a resilient fender element. The fender is in the form of a continuously extruded section, having a base flange and an outwardly projecting contact portion. The base flange advantageously is contoured to correspond to the contours of the retaining channel, and its flanges are arranged to be in and contained by the side edge portions of the retaining channel.
Pursuant to one aspect of the invention, the retaining channel is open at the top and closed at its lower end. Resilient fender elements are slideably received in the retaining channels, and are inserted from the top and slid down to a stop position formed at the lower end of the channel. Preferably, the retaining channel extends over the full vertical area of the piling to be protected. The retaining channel may, however, receive a plurality of fender elements, stacked one above the other and collectively extending over the desired length of the retaining channel.
The arrangement of the invention, as described above, provides for a neat, clean and uniform appearance of the marina pilings. The fastening devices, used for securing the retaining channels to the pilings are both concealed and protected by the overlying fender elements. Additionally, the rigid retaining channels extend straight down the piling elements, bridging over any gouged areas of the piling, providing neat appearing, straight edges and providing support and refinforcing for the fender in the gouged areas.
In some dock structures, the pilings may have flat outer faces, as in the case of many concrete pilings, for example. In such cases, the retaining channel members and the associated fender elements may be formed with a flat configuration.
Although the principal preferred embodiment of the invention involves the utilization of rigid retaining channels, there are certain instances in which the use of retaining channels is inappropriate, for such cases, the fender elements may be secured directly to the pilings by spaced apart fasteners in conjunction with elongated, rigid retaining strips which contain and conform the flanges of the fender elements in the areas between fasteners.
In certain instances, piling fenders of arcuate configuration, designed especially for cylindrical pilings, may be attached to flat-faced pilings using linearly spaced fastening elements. Unlike attempts to fasten flat-configured fenders to cylindrical pilings, which leave the fenders exposed and subject to damage as mentioned above, the edge extremities of an arcuately configured fender can be held tightly against the face of a flat piling using linearly spaced fastening elements. This enables a marina having both flat and cylindrical pilings to use a common, arcuately configured fender throughout.
For a more complete understanding of the above and other features and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, and to the accompanying drawings.